“To have raced in Africa during my career is a huge huge dream for me” - Lewis Hamilton pushing for F1 race in South Africa

Lewis Hamilton has backed the idea of F1 returning to South Africa for a Grand Prix.

It has been reported over the last few weeks that Liberty Media, which owns F1′s commercial rights through the Formula One Group, is also said to be exploring the possibility of taking Formula 1 back to South Africa.

The South African GP first joined the World Championship calendar in 1962, with races being held at the Prince George Circuit in East London, Cape Province. It moved to the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in 1967, which hosted 21 editions of the Grand Prix.

It was last held at the Kyalami circuit in 1993, when Williams-Renault's Alain Prost took pole position, registered the fastest lap and won the race. Ayrton Senna (McLaren-Ford) in P2 and Michael Schumacher (Benetton-Ford) in P3 completed the podium.

Hamilton has now said that he has been pushing “in the background” for an F1 race in South Africa, telling ESPN:

“Hopefully you’ll see that (F1 race in South Africa) come to life soon as well. And that’s a real big dream for me, to have raced in Africa during my career is a huge huge dream for me.”

The Mercedes driver added:

“I know we have a big following out there; well I have a big following out there, and I know a lot of people are into Formula 1 now there, so that would be amazing because just imagine the work we can be doing (with IWC) when we’re in South Africa.”

---

F1 in talks to add Vietnam to 2024 race calendar

Liberty Media is also said to be in talks to add the Vietnam Grand Prix to the Formula 1 calendar in 2024.

The first Vietnam GP was scheduled to be held on April 5, 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and a series of other problems, including the arrest of Hanoi People’s Committee chairman Duc Chung, who was closely involved in the running of the race, saw the race shelved.

However, according to Thegodflores, Vietnam could finally see an F1 race in the country next year. Ahead of this year's Australian GP, a Liberty Media delegation is said to have visited Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, to meet with officials to discuss the prospect of the nation hosting a race in the near future.

It was also reported that the circuit will have a mixed layout, with the track being a combination of a part of the permanent circuit that was designed for 2020 and the main streets of Hanoi.